Vae Victo
by GreenMamba5
Summary: Part 1: the story of Tarquin's mother, Part 2: to be posted the story of Tarquin's birth. Vae Victo, "he who is conquered."
1. Mate

**Victus is in his early twenties in this fic. For anyone who's unfamiliar with my style of writing turians, phrases in italics are said in subvocals.**

* * *

"Come on, Adrien, she just needs a place to crash for a bit. She won't stay very long."

Victus glared down at the gold-plated female, focusing on her deep brown, pleading eyes, and hissed back, "No. The flat's already crowded between me, you, and Ryx. We don't need anybody else cramming themselves in here."

The 2-bedroom flat had originally been shared by Victus and his long-time squadmate and friend, Terryx Actaeon. In recent months, though, Ryx had found his match in Nephele, and she'd moved in with them almost immediately. Since then, she'd become the little golden thorn in Victus' side, making a habit of nagging at him as well as her mate.

Her newest demand involved a friend of hers, Scylla, whose apartment complex was being renovated. Neph had offered her a place to stay until the remodeling was done. However, that entailed that Scylla would be occupying the couch... or temporarily kicking Victus out of his bed. And, of course, Neph suggested the latter.

"You'd really turn down a nice girl who's having a hard time of things?" Neph pouted.

"Yes," Victus deadpanned.

_Heartless. _Neph frowned at him and turned to her gray-plated mate, who was playing spectator on the couch behind them. "Ryx, help me out, here..."

Ryx reclined back on the couch, drawing his arms up and clashing his hands on the back of his head. His dark blue eyes twinkled. "Well, you have my vote."

Neph smirked back at Victus. "We outnumber you." _Victory_

"This isn't a democracy," Victus snapped. "Last I checked, it was my name on the lease."

"We pay half the rent!" Neph defended. "We have just as much say as you. Why must you make this difficult? Scyl would only be here for a week or two."

"Plus she's a looker," Ryx said absently.

"No," Victus argued, not even looking at his friend.

"And," Ryx added, "she can cook." Victus turned slowly, mandibles tight against his face. "Think about it. When's the last time we ate something other than take-out or military rations, huh?"

Neph sent a cool glance his way, as well, and muttered, "There's an insult to my cooking skills in there somewhere, I can feel it." In addition, she buzzed, _Watch it._

Ryx avoided eye-contact, letting out a whistle, and kept talking to Victus. "Just let her stay for a while. You know Neph's gonna hound you until you do."

"I've grown quite resiliant to her _hounding_," Victus growled.

"Maybe," Neph sighed, "but you won't exactly have much choice in the matter."

Victus' eyes snapped back to her. "_What?_" Almost immediately following his exclamation, a loud rapping sounded at the front of the flat. His glare widened to a look of disbelief. "You already told her to come." As a trilled aside, _Tell me you're joking._

"I did," Neph said, examining her talons and giving a challenging hum.

"Dammit, Neph!" Victus hissed, stomping to the front door. He had every intention of telling Neph's friend to turn around and march herself to a hotel. When he threw the door open, however, he was momentarily taken aback. The woman was less than a head shorter than him, a rare feat for a female, and her plates were an odd slate blue with icy white tips. Her green colony paint swept up from her chin and under her eyes, accentuating her olive green irises.

She blinked up at him, shifting the bags in each of her hands. "You must be... Adrien?"

"Yes," he replied, sounding almost winded. A threatening growl, residual noise from his anger towards Neph, resonated in his throat.

The female, Scylla, quirked a browplate. "Didn't... didn't Nephele tell you I was coming?"

Victus muttered, "She mentioned it about five miuntes ago, yes."

Scylla gasped, her sleek mandibles flaring in embarrassment. "Spirits, I'm so sorry! She said it was okay, so I thought she had spoken with you about it." She glanced back at the street, where a transport was parked. "So... I'll just... Is there a hotel anywhere near here?"

Victus glanced back at Neph, who was giving him a look that screamed, _Don't make me beg. _He looked back at Scylla, who was shooting a worried look at the transport. He assumed it was pay-per-minute, and their flat was far enough out that it would take at least half an hour to get to any decent hotels.

With a defeated sigh, he swept out past Scylla, headed for the transport, and called back, "Go on in."

She gave a surprised chirp, barely peeping out a "thank you," and shimmied into the house, setting her bags down by the couch. She shot an angry frown at Neph and hissed, "I can't believe you!"

"We knew he'd give in one way or another," Ryx muttered form the couch.

Scylla gave him a swift kick to the knee and he double over with a throaty hiss. "I'm staying here _uninvited_. Do you know how terrible I feel right now?" _How could you embarrass me like that?_

Neph scoffed, waving a hand to signal a change in subject. "Well, what do you think?"

"About what?" Scylla spat.

Neph leaned closer to her, cupping a hand over her mouth. "Didn't I tell you he was gorgeous?"

Scylla drew back, letting out a startled trill. "That is not even relevant! I didn't come here for you to play matchmaker, Neph!" The subject was dropped when they heard Victus clamoring back into the flat, his arms loaded down with Scylla's bags. When he neared the doorway, one bag scraped the frame, and Scylla let out a shriek. "Please, be careful with-"

He bumped the bag into the doorframe, and she was cut off by a loud _POP_. Victus froze as something ripped through the bag and whizzed past his face. Scylla was instantly beside him, tearing the bag away.

"No, no, no," she chanted, shuffling through the bag and pulling out a pistol with very matte paint.

"Is... is that a gun?" Victus snapped, with a chitter of disbelief.

"Shit!" Scylla cursed. "You dented the casing!"

"Why is there a _goddamn gun_," he repeated, "loose in your bag?"

"I work for Elanus Risk Control R&D," she barked. "And you _dented _my Predator prototype!"

"If it dents that easily," Victus hissed, "then it's completely useless."

"It's a _prototype_!" she shrieked. _Fragile!_

"Does it not have a _safety_?" Victus roared. "Because it nearly _shot me in the face_!"

"Oh, the rounds are made of plastic, you big, fringeless-"

"Plastic or not, it was still point blank!"

"Quit whining! Some soldier you are!" _Weak!_

"Oh, that's brilliant, coming from a civilian. You get through basic honest, or did you have to do some special _research and development_ on your CO's _pistol _to make it out?"

As they argued, Neph and Ryx exchanged impish grins, clapping their hands together in a "high-three" gesture. Neph plopped down beside her mate, watching the show. She chirped, "I give it... three weeks, tops."

"I give it two," Ryx muttered.

"Maybe," Neph hummed. "Oh. Oh, look at her go."

"Did she just chase him outside with a toy gun?"

"Yes, yes she did," Neph chortled. "Oh, this is perfect!"

"I change my mind," Ryx said. "I give it a week."

* * *

It didn't take long for Scylla to settle in, and it took an even shorter time for her to take over the kitchen, not for cooking purposes (seeing as how Ryx had implied her culinary prowess) but for her work. Blueprints for the proposed Predator pistol were stretched out on the small dinette table, and various plastic parts and metal bits were strewn in the accompanying chairs.

By nightfall, Scylla had completely migrated to the kitchen and was obsessing over the details in the design. She remained awake, long after Neph and Ryx retired to their room, and was even up when Victus decided to turn in. He passed the kitchen and paused, watching her work as he rubbed a throbbing bruise on his neck where she'd shot him with that damn prototype gun.

Sensing him in the doorway, she turned toward him. "Something wrong?" Her eyes darted from his neck back up to his eyes. "Sorry. I didn't actually mean to hit skin. My aim isn't exactly spot on."

"So you did sleep your way through basic?" Victus muttered, stalking into the kitchen for a cup of water.

"No," Scylla growled, "I was just stationed in intel. I had entry-level training with handguns, but I've let my skills slide. Now, I need to know the mechanics of a gun, not how to use it."

"One should go hand-in-hand with the other," Victus grumbled, procuring a glass and filling it from the tap. "Hand me any rifle, no matter the model, and I could tear it apart and throw it back together in under a minute. And then, I could pick it up and gun down anything in my way."

"But could you improve the design of the weapon?" Scylla asked. "Because that's what they pay me to do."

"If a gun works, it works," Victus said, taking a drink. He pulled the glass away with a pleased sigh and wiping his mouth. "If there's a flaw, account for it and compensate. If you aren't skilled enough to work around that, then you shouldn't be holding the gun."

Scylla shook her head and talked around him. "I'm trying to work around heat emission."

"What's wrong with heat sinks?" Victus said, finding a space on the counter top that was mostly clear and leaning back against it.

"You have to carry them," Scylla said. "And, you have the added time it takes to eject it and replace it. I'm testing a design that would allow the gun to self-regulate. Once a certain heat level has been reached, there is a short cool-down period."

"I could probably switch out heat sinks faster than a gun could cool itself down," Victus barked, letting out a haughty laugh.

"If I can get the cool-down sequence to function correctly," Scylla said, "it would only take ten seconds for the gun to be usable again."

"Ten?" Victus hummed. "I could definitely beat that." _Easily._

"With some modification, I could cut it down to five."

"Five is closer, but I'm still faster."

"I'd like to see that," she challenged. She pointed towards a window.

"Now?" Victus spat. _Terrible timing._

"Why not?" she retorted.

"It's the middle of the night, for one," Victus deadpanned.

"S'wrong, soldier?" Scylla taunted. "Need a flashlight to see what you're doing?"

"You do realize I'll have to _fire a weapon _to properly demonstrate, right?" he asked. "You can't just fire shots in a residential area."

"Residential how?" Scylla returned. "You live out in the country. Your nearest neighbor is probably at least a mile away." She crossed her arms defiantly. "I think you just don't want me to call your bluff."

Victus stared her down, his mandibles twitching in annoyance. He quickly moved away from the counter and whisked into the living area. In moments, Scylla could hear the sound of rummaging followed by the metallic click of a heat sink being shoved into place. Victus returned, carrying a scuffed assault rifle, and moved toward the door at the back of the kitchen that led onto the lawn.

"Well, let's get this over with," he grumbled, throwing the door open. _I'll prove you wrong._

Scylla followed with a grin, staying on the patio and hanging close to the flat while he moved into the yard. He was wearing lounge pants and a loose-fitting shirt, was barefoot, and was absolutely not the image that came to mind when one thought of "soldier." But, he moved fluidly, falling into stance with his gun pointed at the sky. He pointed to his pants pocket, indicating that a spare heat sink was there. Scylla nodded in realization and he curled his talon against the trigger.

He shot in rapid-fire at the sky, his plates lighting up from the burst of the rifle. After a moment, the rifle creaked in protest and he abandoned the trigger. In one second, the sizzling heat sink popped out. The next second, his taloned hand dove into the pocket. In the third, he swiveled the new heat sink in his palm and jammed it into his rifle. At the start of the fourth, he lowered the rifle and tossed a knowing look back at Scylla, who was was standing at the door, mandibles slack.

In the next moment, a very tired and startled Ryx burst out of the flat, brandishing a pistol. He had it trained on the figure in the yard, but lowered his aim when he realized it was his flatmate. He roared, "What in the fuck are you doing out here?"

"Proving a point," Victus grumbled back, returning to the house.

"I heard gunfire and thought I was in the fucking ground raid again!" Ryx yelled.

"Obviously, you aren't," Victus muttered. "Not enough krogan." He trudged back into the flat, where Neph was hanging timidly by the door separating the kitchen from the living area. "Sorry, Neph."

She sighed and entered the kitchen. "As long as it was you... Spirits, that's a terrible way to be woken up. Don't ever do that again."

Ryx stalked back into the house, dropping his gun on the counter and wordlessly, angrily, and sleepily stomping back to the bedroom. Scylla followed him in, shutting and locking the back door behind herself. She gave Neph an apologetic look, then turned to Victus.

"Looks like I'll have to cut that cooldown time to _three seconds_."

* * *

The first week stretched on without much event. Scylla had little luck improving the design of the Predator enough for it to compare to physical speed, and Victus would make quick boasting remarks if he passed her working in the kitchen.

In the end, the new guest had willingly taken the couch, so Victus didn't have the chance to become territorial over his bedroom. He did, however, find himself having to entertain her when Neph and Ryx went off to do their own thing.

One night at the end of the week, he found himself slinking into the living area, where the blue-plated female was watching a vid, alone.

Victus moved to the end of the couch, motioning toward the cushions in a request to sit. She nodded and he flopped down on the end opposite her. He asked, "Where'd Neph go? Wasn't she in here?"

"She was," Scylla replied, pausing the vid. "Ryx finished a report or something, so she's back in the room." Victus nodded in comprehension. "Didn't you have some paperwork, too?"

"Final report of a mission I went on last month," Victus replied. "It's finished."

"Want to watch?" Scylla asked suddenly, gesturing towards the vid screen. "It just started. I can play it from the beginning."

He sent her an even gaze. "That..." She returned the glance, her eyes warm. "Why not?"

She smiled and restarted the vid.

* * *

Victus awoke the next morning to the sound of Ryx hollering through the flat at Neph. His subvocals twanged out haughtily, like he'd just bested an enemy in combat. "Neph, I told you!"

Victus' mind was hazy with sleep and it wasn't until he received a rough shove that he realized what had happened. He shot up, dragging his head away from the soft place it had been nuzzled in to, clicking in near-horror when he fully realized that it was Scylla's stomach. She was stretched out on the couch, her knees pressing into either side of his torso. She shuffled, drawing her legs in and glancing at him nervously.

He'd fallen asleep on the couch with her. Spirits, damn it, he hadn't meant to do that. But that vid was so ridiculous, specifically written for female interests. In one scene, a female character had flat-out subdued a would-be lover by scratching at his mandibles. Victus had proclaimed how absurd the notion was that a man would fall to his knees at such a gesture, and, naturally, Scylla had taken that as a challenge.

She'd tried it out on him, for experimental purposes only, of course. The motions had been clumsy, almost rough, and Victus had thought he would prove her wrong. But then, the motions of her talontips against his mandibles had slowed, softened, and he found himself becoming more and more tired. She'd set a sort of rhythm, and it had seemed that she was pulling him closer. Before he'd even properly realized what had happened, he was nose down against her belly and she was lightly scratching up the side of his face, along the edge of his crest, down the back of his head.

And however many hours later, there he was, getting jeered at like he was a kid caught pants-down with his CO in basic or something.

Victus bolted off the couch as Neph entered the room, her eyes alight and teasing.

"Something wrong, Adrien?" she chirped as he whisked past her and flew down the hallway to his bedroom. She laughed as he slammed the door. "Well, then..."

"I think I won that bet," Ryx insisted as he strutted into the kitchen.

"Bet?" Scylla peeped. "What bet?"

"Sorry, Scyl," Neph said. "We're conspiring against you."

"Trying to play matchmaker?" Scylla hissed.

"Not exactly," Neph defended. "Just... shoving you in that general direction."

"Neph, I don't _need_ a shove! We aren't little kids anymore, and I'm not just going to follow your example and settle down like you and Ryx!" _Mind your our business!_

"You don't have to," Neph argued, sitting beside her. "You've been so caught up in work that you've started closing yourself off. I thought if you could just connect to _somebody_-"

Scylla stood abruptly, knocking a pillow from the couch. "I said _I don't need your help_. I'm by myself because I want to be."

"Uh huh," Ryx muttered, gesturing down the hall. "Just like _he is_, I'm sure. How many depressant shots you go through in a month? Cause if it's anything like _him_-"

Scylla shrieked, "That's none of your business!"

"Scyl, that's not healthy," Neph mumbled sympathetically.

"I can't _believe _you," Scylla growled. "I have one set of parents, I don't need another." She shoved past Ryx into the kitchen. "I'm not staying here if you're just going to try to run my life."

"Scyl, that's not..." Neph sputtered. "Just give it a chance! No one _made _you sleep together last ni-"

"Shut up!" she screeched from the kitchen. "I'm packing up after work today and leaving!"

* * *

Scylla returned to the flat, most of the wind taken from her sails. She dropped a bag of gun parts by the door and trudged through the dark living room toward the kitchen. In trying to tweak her blueprints, she'd lost track of time and stayed long after hours. By the time she caught a transport and reached the flat, everyone seemed to have retired to their bedrooms.

She sighed and entered the kitchen, pausing when she noticed Victus standing on the patio. She quietly moved to the back door and crept outside. Victus barely looked over his shoulder at her. "What was that about leaving?"

"May have changed my mind," Scylla said weakly. "But, I'll still go if things are going to be... awkward."

"I'm being deployed in three days," he said with a shrug.

"Oh," she sighed. "Well, I guess I won't be going anywhere, then."

"No reason to," he agreed.

She stood for a moment, letting the silence soak in. When he didn't say anything else, she turned back into the flat, gripping the door frame. She chewed on a thought for a moment, then decided to speak. "For what it's worth, I haven't slept that well in a long time."

She waited for a response, her head drooping meekly when she received none. Conceding, she stepped into the flat, freezing when a quiet admission followed. "I haven't either."

She whirled, facing Victus, but he kept his back to her. "So what, then?" _What do we do now?_

"I don't know," he admitted.

"Well," she said, "not that it matters. You're leaving in a matter of days and I'll be gone when my place is remodeled."

She stayed put, gauging his reaction as best she could from the angle. She barely caught the amused flare of his mandibles. "Short tour, I could be back in a month."

"Repairs will be done in less than two weeks," she said flatly.

"They could take longer than expected," his voice held a tone that read _sabotage_.

"Maybe if someone were to break in and trash the place," Scylla said. Offhandedly, she continued, "Or, _someone _could just invite me to his room and give me some incentive to stay longer."

That caught his attention, and he spun around with an unreadable expression, his subvocals locked down so as not to give away his thoughts. "That would be bold of someone."

She quirked a browplate at him. "No bolder than staying last night."

"That wasn't actually intentional," he muttered.

"Oh," she peeped. An awkward silence fell, and she suddenly laughed. "You're actually pretty bad at this, you know?"

"I might be a little out of my element," he muttered, moving closer.

"And that is?" she wondered, laying a hand against his chest.

"Battle, chaos," he answered. "I'm usually the one who keeps it together. I'm not sure what to do with an opponent who matches me stride-for-stride." _Equal._

"I'm your opponent now?" she chirped, curling her talons into his shirt.

"Relationships aren't my area of expertise," he said, "but if Ryx and Neph are any indication, then yes, you are." _Constant fight for control._

"Hmm, good point," she chimed. "So, what'll it be?" _Will you be my opponent?_

"Well," he hummed, "I suppose I have three days to convince you to stay."

Scylla smiled, nuzzling his chest before he led her back in to the flat.

* * *

**So, this was going to be a oneshot, but I decided to break it up. There should only be one other part after this!**

**Oh, and the Latin:**  
**From what I understand, "vae victo" means "he who is conquered." It's the singular, masculine form of "vae victis" meaning "the conquered ones."**


	2. Baby

**This picks up approximately two weeks after the first part. There will be frequent time skips throughout this part. Also, the italics are messed up. I'll have to come fix them later.  
**

* * *

**2151 CE**

* * *

Victus had never run through a mission so fast in his life. An assignment to shut down a up-and-coming krogan merc group, that should have taken nearly a full month to complete, barely took two weeks. By the end of it, he and his men were are exhausted, run to the bone, but grateful to be on the transport back to Palaven in such good time.

As his men tussled around the shuttle, lightly play-fighting and stretching their tired muscles, Victus found a seat in the corner and rested his eyes. He was startled awake by one of his younger recruits, a soldier who was only a year out of basic.

"Captain," he said. "A question, sir?"

Victus blinked to attention. "What is it?"

"Was that merc group a bigger threat than they seemed?" the young soldier asked. _They didn't seem that tough to me. Could've taken them down by myself._

"No." Victus muttered, slightly amused by the younger one's apparent inability to filter his subvocals. "Why?" _Get to the point, boy._

"It just seemed that you wanted to put them down quick, sir," he said, shrugging.

"No, we just made good time," Victus said. "No use wasting it on the likes of them, anyway." _Mercenary dogs._

On the other end of the shuttle, a more seasoned member of the party snorted out a laugh and barked, "Yeah, and I'll bet you smellin' like a woman the first day had nothin' to do with it!"

Victus glared up at vocal soldier. They'd served together for some time, so Victus was less inclined to remain patient with this one. "I'm not sure what you're implying, Lieutenant."

"Oh, this and that," the soldier replied. "But, if you getting laid will get us through assignments faster, you should tell her to stick around."

"If you have a problem with the pace," Victus snapped, "I could always reassign you."

"No, sir!" the Lieutenant barked back, settling into his seat with a laugh.

With the exchange over, Victus reclined back in his own seat, grumbling when he noticed the first soldier's attention was still on him. He glanced up at the younger turian. "What?"

"Nothing, sir," he peeped. "Just... she must be something else to have you running back so fast."

"I don't think you're at liberty to make assumptions," Victus hissed. He didn't typically take kindly to that sort of buddy-buddy attitude from soldiers who'd barely fought with him. Trust came with time and familiarity came from shared bullet wounds, neither of which this boy had. But, the soldier's defeated chirp struck Victus in a way that made him feel a bit guilty, so he added, "But, yes, she's unlike anyone you, me, or anyone else will ever know."

* * *

He hadn't asked anyone to meet him at the spaceport, which wasn't unusual. Ryx and Neph were busy people. Well, not Ryx so much, but, in his defense, he would sometimes meet Victus if he wasn't otherwise occupied.

He certainly wasn't expecting Scylla to be waiting when he stepped into the breezeway between the unloading area and the lobby. She perked up when she spotted him, jumping up from her bench. As she moved closer, he suddenly felt very awkward. He'd showered off the grime of battle, but he hadn't scrubbed his armor all that well. She got within arm's length and pulled a near-grimace.

"You've got a little krogan there," she said, pointing at his gauntlet. Her talon traced the air over his shoulder and down his chest. "And there."

"Wasn't expecting a welcoming party," he fumbled, straightening his back in and attempt to look more presentable.

She laughed, "So, you'll understand if I'm, ah, not the most clingy welcoming party." She gestured to the white cloth of her tunic, gripping and waving the hem for emphasis.

"Of course," he said. "I wouldn't have expected... " He was suddenly glad that none of his men had departed with him. This was bad enough without the jeering or catcalling that would certainly accompany them.

Scylla grinned at him, cooing out, _Don't be embarrassed._She reached up, grabbing him by the mandibles, and tugged him down slightly so his forehead would bump hers. His nerves instantly melted and he nuzzled her with a trill.

"I have a transport waiting," she said.

"So," he said, wanting to grip her waist, but not wanting to dirty up her clothes with his gloves, "I take it I convinced you to stay?"

"Hmm," she purred. "That is to be foreseen."

"You've stayed thus far."

She locked eyes with him, smirking as she caught the glimmer in his. "Yeah, well, my landlord decided to put the renovations on the back-burner and go on vacation. Couldn't really leave, even if I wanted to."

"How spontaneous of him," Victus said playfully.

"Almost like he had a sudden windfall," she accused.

"I hear Cipritine is lovely this time of year."

"I'm sure it is," she muttered, giving his mandibles a tug. _Unnecessary._"I wasn't planning on leaving. You didn't have to play dirty."

"I like to have a backup plan," he said pleasantly.

"Uh huh," Scylla sighed. "Well, come on, then. Let's get you home and clean."

"So you can welcome me properly?" he teased as she twirled and walked in front of him.

She threw a grin back. "Don't press your luck, soldier."

* * *

**2153 CE, 2 years later**

* * *

Scylla held up her Omni-tool, displaying a list of properties, and squeezed in beside Victus on the couch. "I've narrowed it down the these." She scratched at her elaborate paint-the mark of Victus' colony-pensively.

Victus and Ryx occupied the rest of the couch, meticulously clicking their dismantled rifles back together. Ryx paid Scylla no mind, and Victus barely glanced up as he snapped a piece into place. At the other end of the room, Neph shook her head, patting a hand on top of her pregnant stomach.

"Hey, _Colonels_," Neph grumbled, using a sarcastic tone to address her mate and Victus by their newly acquired ranks. "Look alive, especially you, Adrien."

He finished reassembling his rifle, wiping the side casing to give it a little extra shine. "Yes, I'm all yours now." He nuzzled Scylla's temple as he scanned the list. He pointed to one. "That one."

Scylla frowned. "Of course you'd pick the house in the middle of nowhere... What about this one?" She pointed at one higher on the list.

"It's by the ocean," Victus grumbled. "I hate the ocean." _Smells bad._

"Fine, no ocean-front property," she muttered. _Spoilsport._"So why the other one?"

"I like being far out so I won't be bothered."

"_Bothered?_" she spat. "By who?"

He shot a look over to Neph, and she shrieked, "Hey! I'm not bothersome!"

"Maybe not _you_," Victus said, "but that _creature_you're about to spawn is something else entirely."

"Asshole," she barked. "He's my son, and you'll be his _Uncle Adrien_whether you like is or not."

"No," Victus said, ignoring a laugh from Ryx, "I won't be. I hate children."

"No ocean, no children," Scylla listed. "You're just no fun at all, are you?"

_That's not what you said last night,_he trilled, not even bothering to vocalize it completely.

"So, the house in the middle of nowhere?" she diverted. "That's really the one you like?"

"Yes." He gave the edge of her mandible a nip.

"Great," Ryx said, smirking. "How fast can you be out?"

* * *

"...not Athros?" Scylla gasped, entering the living area where Victus was painting a final coat over the walls. She was connected to Neph through her Omni-tool.

[No, we can't name him Athros anymore,] Neph barked back, sounding perfectly annoyed, which Victus assumed was normal coming from a woman who'd just given birth. He went back to his painting, blocking out most of what she said.

"What happened?" Scylla asked. "I thought Ryx liked that name."

[Oh, he did,] Neph replied. [It was perfect. But, it sort of requires that we have a _son._]

"What?" Scylla peeped. Victus also gave slight pause to look back.

[Yeah, with all the technology that's available, you'd think they could get something like that right,] Neph grumbled. [But, no, they were reading the damn ultrasound wrong!] The rise in her voice was followed by a shrill, unhappy squeal. Neph lowered you voice and hummed out a low purr. [Ssh, sorry, too loud.]

"It's a female, then?" Scylla urged.

[Yeah,] Neph chirped back, a low coo sounded behind her voice. [A daughter. Ryx nearly had a heart attack.]

"I'm sure. So what's the name now?"

[Athra,] Neph said simply. [Decided to keep it similar, so Athra... Athy.] Her subvocals crackled as her throat swelled. [Scyl, she's beautiful. I can't wait 'til we can bring her back to Palaven.]

"We'll have to come visit," Scylla said cheerfully. She glanced over at Victus and he gave her a horrified expression, shaking his head in argument.

[I don't imagine Adrien will go along with that.]

Scylla gave him stare, nodding as she pointed at him. "Oh, I'll get him to agree to it somehow."

He rose up and stalked up to her, paint roller in hand, as Neph replied, [You do that. I'm gonna get some rest now. Just wanted to tell you the news.]

"Take care," Scylla said. "We'll see you soon." She disconnected and flashed Victus a grin.

"We are not visiting them," he grumbled, waving the paint roller at her.

"Yes, we are," she retorted. "Babies are precious."

"No, they're not," he countered. "They're fragile and loud and can't even communicate properly."

"They're _babies_," Scylla emphasized.

Victus sighed and ended the discussion by slapping the paint roller against her arm, smearing dark green paint onto her shoulder plates. She shrieked and lunged at him, wrenching the tool from his talons and brandishing it at him. He dodged and she made chase, slinging paint at his back and splattering the walls and floor at the same time. He circled, falling back onto the couch, which, thankfully, was covered in plastic. Scylla climbed into his lap, predatory, and smooshed a green blotch onto his cheek.

"Not the face," he hissed, gripping her hips and displacing her. She fell back, dropping the roller as he pinned her, and sang out a laugh as he leaned in the nibble at her exposed bitemark. A taunt rumbled from deep in his throat, "I think I've won."

"I'm just biding my time," she purred, writhing under him, "letting you think you've won." She nuzzled his face, smudging the green blotch onto her blue plates and pristine white colony mark. "We're going to visit Neph and Ryx and the baby."

"Fine," he said, sounding surprisingly undefeated. "Convince me."

* * *

**2157 CE, 4 years later**

* * *

A certain kind of worry settled in Victus' gut as his squad and Ryx's made their way to the coordinates of the dormant Relay 314. They were being shipped in to assist the Blackwatch unit that had previously been sent to investigate activity around the relay, but Victus knew that a simple assignment wouldn't require Blackwatch operatives plus both his and Ryx's squads. Something had gone terribly wrong...

When the landed, they were immediately greeted by a solemn-looking Blackwatch operative. He came up to them, his armor stained with rusty red splatters. The exchanged salutes and the Blackwatch soldier asked, "Have you been told the extent of what's going on here?"

"No," Victus replied. He motioned back to the shuttles where their men had remained. "It must be bad to need this much firepower."

"You don't know the half of it," the soldier said with a grimace. "We found things living on this rock, things that were trying to activate Relay 314. They didn't look like much, so we thought we'd just put them down and go home." _We were wrong. That made them angry._ "They're intelligent, sir, and they have weaponry that's archaic but nearly on par with ours." _Monsters._

"We need to speak with your commanding officer," Ryx interrupted, crossing his arms tightly.

"He's... indisposed at the moment," the soldier said weakly.

_Dead?_Ryx clicked in assumption.

"No, no," the Blackwatch operative corrected. "He's alive and uninjured, but he's not in any state to be speaking."

Ryx groaned. "His second, then?"

"He's even worse, sir."

With a growl, Ryx snapped, "Are you telling me the best of you can't even handle a little bloodshed?"

"Bloodshed is nothing," a voice proclaimed from the sidelines. The three turned toward the sound, their eyes meeting with a gray-plated man with sharp, blue colony paint. He stalked up to the group, his icy blue eyes weary. He gave half a salute gave a clipped introduction. "The name's Vakarian. I'm the CO of this operation."

Victus gave his name and gestured to Ryx, "And this is Colonel Actaeon."

"Get scared by the locals?" Ryx muttered. "Word is you aren't fit to talk. Your next in line, either."

Vakarian sent him a cool glare. "You have mate, Colonel?"

Ryx flinched, exposing himself with an unconscious, affirmative chirp.

Vakarian continued, "Mine is also in the Blackwatch, but is fortunately on maternity leave. My second's mate, however, was a member of the recon team sent to investigate the lifeforms we found. She was captured by them and murdered in the most horrific way I've ever seen." Ryx remained silent, so Vakarian concluded, "So, no, we are not frightened by these creatures." He left the truth to a subvocal phrase. _We are in mourning._

"Understood," Victus said, giving Ryx a sharp click to admonish him. "What's the plan of action, then?"

Vakarian's frown deepened. "We wipe them out."

* * *

Scylla and Neph were visiting when the news reached them.

Athy, who had grown into a brilliant little golden copy of her mother, was standing by the kitchen counter, observing while Scylla made lunch for them all. The girl blinked in awe then climbed into a chair, so she'd be level with the counter. She pawed at a plate of ingredients, nearly tipping it.

"Careful," Scylla said, placing her palms entirely over Athy's small hands. She guided the child's movements, helping her assemble a type of stuffed croissant. "Like this. There, perfect!"

"Will daddy come for lunch?" Athy peeped, placing the wrapped dough form onto a baking sheet.

"Probably not today, chick," Scylla cooed, nuzzling her. "He has to keep working until his boss says he can come home."

"When's that?" she whined, her subvocals scratchy.

"Well, your mama's trying to call him now," Scylla replied, pointing out the window toward Neph, who was standing on the deck outside. "Maybe we'll find out."

"Okay..." the child pouted.

Scylla glanced back outside, noticing that Neph was looking more and more distressed as she spoke into her Omni-tool. She quickly finished prepping the food and placed it into the oven. With a forced smile, she told Athy to go watch a vid until it was time to eat. Once Athy had disappeared into the living room, Scylla snuck onto the deck and tiptoed up to Neph, careful not to startle her.

"...no, they haven't released any information," Neph was saying. She gave Scylla a light smile to show that she noticed her arrival. Scylla leaned against the railing beside her. "The Council on the Citadel has made a statement that the relay is still dormant and that they'll be further investigating what disturbed it."

[It's bad, Neph,] Ryx's voice replied, much more graveled that usual. [The lifeforms we've found... they're terrible. We're fighting them constantly, but they just keep coming.] He sounded exhausted. [I've never seen anything like them before. Blood loss does nothing to them. Hell, loss of limb doesn't faze them that much. They just get up screaming and keep going. It's almost worse than a krogan.]

"They can regenerate?" Neph asked.

[No, thank the Spirits,] Ryx sighed. [But they don't stop until their very last breath. They don't stop at all. It's so cold here at night, Neph, but they just brush it off like it's nothing.]

"Want me to try to find something on them?" Neph offered. "There's got to be some data on them somewhere."

[Absolutely not,] Ryx hissed. [I don't want you near anything involving them. They're... dangerous.]

Scylla leaned into the frame and chirped, "But, you're okay, right? You and Adrien are okay?"

[We've been better,] Ryx groaned, [but they haven't taken us out yet.]

"See to it that they don't," Scylla ordered. "You have a little girl waiting for you and Adrien will have a very pissed off mate if he gets himself killed out there."

[I'll pass that along,] Ryx said with a half-hearted laugh. [Send Athy my love, okay?]

"We will," Neph whispered. "Be careful, Ryx."

[Of course,] he hummed. [I've got to go. Take care of yourselves.]

"Yeah," Neph sighed as the connection was cut. She let out a wavering cry and slumped into Scylla. Her blue-plated friend tilted her head, resting it on top of Neph's.

"They'll be okay," she assured.

"I hope you're right, Scyl."

* * *

Several days into the fight, it seemed that the alien threat wasn't going to let up. It seemed that when one wave of the creatures was bested, another would rise up, almost as though they were sprouting from the ground. Their campsites were makeshift, temporary, leading the turian forces to believe that the lifeforms were offworlders or explorers. The most troubling theory was that there were many more of them nearby and, worse, there were countless more colonizing another world that had yet to be discovered.

Whatever the case, the battle was continuing in tedium and the commanding officers ultimately agreed that more drastic measures would have to be taken to cease the conflict. The final decision came in the form of the craziest plan many of the soldiers had ever heard, a plan suggested in passing by Victus.

"...they eventually retreat," he said. "The ones that survive retreat to the camps to rest and recover. And, those men are going to recover. And then, they're going to come back out and fight us again. It won't stop unless we drive the knife completely into the wound."

"You're suggesting we attack their camps?" muttered one of the Blackwatch soldiers, a brown-plated, white-marked man named Pallin who had been introduced as Vakarian's second.

"Obviously we have to be subtle about it," Victus said, "but yes, that's exactly what I'm suggesting."

Vakarian growled in his corner, voicing his distaste for the plan. "Attacking their wounded who have retreated makes us no better than them."

"So, you're accepting potential defeat in favor of pride?" Victus challenged.

"If you're expecting me to initiate ruthless slaughter, then yes," Vakarian barked back. "Enough damage has been done here, on both sides. We need to suffocate this fire, not rekindle it. The Citadel Council has been informed of the situation, and they have the capability to end this."

"There's no way to snuff this out quietly," Victus argued. "It's already messy, it's going to remain messy. If there are others, they will come, and this battle will stretch on indefinitely. The only way to put a stop to it is to defeat them so completely that they rue the day our paths ever crossed."

"A massacre?" Vakarian scoffed. "That's how you want us to be seen in the eyes of the galactic community."

"A message," Victus corrected. "To our allies, we are loyal and to our enemies, we are to be feared."

Pallin broke into the debate with a snarl. "And, just how do you propose we get into their camps? Even if you're right, even if this is the only way, the camps are fiercely protected now because they're preparing for the worst."

"Not to pick at fresh wounds," Victus said, his subvocals humming out an apology in advance, "but your mate's team made it to the heart of their camps."

Pallin flinched back, unable to swallow the pained cry that tore from his throat. "They were _captured_."

"They were," Victus said. "They were caught off guard and were overpowered. The creatures believe that they can best us, because they have already. If a team were to allow themselves to be captured, that other species would have a false sense of victory. However, our team would be prepared, and we would strike them when they least expect it."

Vakarian spoke again. "And if the plan fails, the team dies. What if they can be overpowered? What if they're rendered immobile? What if they are _actually_taken prisoner? No one is stupid enough to play into that plan."

Victus chuckled and raised a talon in jest. "Volunteer number one."

"_What?_" Vakarian howled.

"I stand behind my plan," Victus said.

Vakarian mulled it over for a moment, finally caving. "Fine, but it's your life you're potentially throwing away. I won't let you order anyone to follow. Your team must be comprised only of those who choose that fate."

Behind Victus, a number of soldiers, some belonging to him and some serving under Ryx, raised their guns to signal their willingness to participate. Surprisingly, a few Blackwatch operatives did, as well.

Ryx cleared his throat. "I'll back him, too."

"No," Victus said, shaking his head, "someone needs to hang back in case this ends badly."

"Your point?" Ryx muttered.

"If the worst happens," Victus said, "I'm entrusting my men to you." The end of the statement was clipped, and his undertones implied that he wasn't finished speaking.

"What else?" Ryx groaned.

"Well, someone has to explain this to Scylla if I don't make it out," Victus said, smirking.

"Oh, is that all?" Ryx spat. "Survive one warzone and waltz into another."

"Basically."

"Asshole. You better shred them from the inside out, is all I'm saying," Ryx said. The leaders and there men took the sudden drop in formality as a cue to dismiss and regroup.

As the team gathered around Victus, he shot back, "Then you better be there afterwards to clean up. This is going to get messy."

* * *

With the Council's inevitable intervention, the Relay 314 Incident was brought to a screeching halt. Treaties were formed between the turian and "human" governments, and the soldiers in active duty were sent home for a well-deserved break.

Their efforts in the scuffle had earned Victus and Ryx some pretty hefty promotions, and they both returned exhausted, battle-worn, and each holding the title "General." They were among the last to be sent home after the conflict, so the spaceport wasn't cram-packed with frantic families when Neph and Scylla went to pick them up.

They waited, trying to hide their nervous subvocalizations so as not to upset Athy. When the ships arrived and admitted the generals into the breezeway, Athy was the first to squeal and tear down the hall, leaping at her father.

Ryx dropped to his knees, allowing her arms to clasp around his neck, and he quickly lifted her up in a tight hug. Neph was instantly beside him, nuzzling and clicking out relieved cries. Beside the family's cluster, Victus appeared. His armor had seen better days and he looked as though he would topple over if he stood still, but he was alive and well.

Scylla rushed to him, a desperate whine swelling in her throat. When she came within a few feet of him, his depleted physical state momentarily forgotten, she launched at him, clashing into his armored chest. His reflexes barely functioned but he managed to catch her. He stumbled, spinning with her to regain his balance. Once he was stabilized, he burrowed his nose into her neck, breathing deeply to drown himself in her warm, clean scent that was so vastly different from the cold stench of battle and blood that clung to him.

She was whimpering out his name, her fingers flexing on the back of his neck and under his crest. He sighed, tucking one arm completely under her so her could bring a free hand up to splay on the back of her head. He squeezed her closer with a tired laugh.

"Your welcomes have improved a bit," he purred.

"Shut up," she whined. "You stupid, foolish... Colonel Idiot."

"That's _General Idiot_," he chirped.

"Shut up," she repeated. _I love you._

* * *

**2165 CE**

* * *

"What's wrong with the name _Tarquin_?"

Victus glanced up from his report. Scylla's eyes were locked defiantly on him as she rubbed her swollen belly. He sighed and replied, "I just don't like the sound of it."

She huffed, "It was my grandfather's name, and I think it's nice."

"Why must we name him after your side of the family?" Victus argued, returning his gaze to the datapads in front of him.

"Because _your_side was uncreative and recycled the same name a thousand times before finally letting it die," Scylla muttered.

"They didn't."

"You had an aunt who was named the same thing as your great-grandfather, but with a feminine ending," Scylla deadpanned. "I'm surprised you got out with a different name."

"Mother was delirious when she named me," Victus said.

"Thank the Spirits," Scylla countered. A long silence filled the room, and Scylla busied herself with rubbing her tummy, chirping happily when a light kick thumped against her palm. She glanced up at her mate, waiting for him to crack.

Finally, to her dismay, he muttered, "We aren't naming him Tarquin."

"Oh, come on!" Scylla snapped.

"What does Neph think of it?" Victus asked idly.

"I haven't mentioned it," Scylla said. "I don't plan to. I want his name to be a surprise."

"You should ask her," Victus said. "She'll tell you it sounds ridiculous, too."

"She wouldn't!" Victus chuckled at her frustration, and she barked, "Fine, you be the first to speak with the doctors after he's born, and you can name him. But, if I get the first word in, I'm naming him."

"Fine," Victus said. "You won't be in any state to do much talking, I'm sure."

"I'm sure I will," she retorted.

"Fine," he said, smirking behind his datapad.

"Fine!"

* * *

Victus paced the waiting room, ignoring the worried looks Ryx and Neph were shooting at him. When he made his round in front of Neph, she reached out, trying to coax him into sitting, but he tore his wrist away.

"Adrien," she said quietly, "burning a line in the floor isn't helping."

"So what if it isn't?" he snapped loud enough that Neph flinched back.

Ryx laid a hand on his mate's shoulder, shaking his head at her so she'd back down. Their friend had been a wreck since he'd been ushered out of the delivery room. At first, he'd been simply angry that they thought a hardened soldier, a _general_, couldn't handle the sight of a _complication_. Now, nearly an hour later, he was frantic and bewildered as to why an emergency procedure to remove the infant was taking so long.

Finally, the obstetrician trudged into the waiting room, his slumped posture radiating trouble. Victus rushed up to him, his subvocals shaky and frantic. They silenced altogether when the doctor glanced away, his expression bleak. He motioned for Victus to follow and slowly led him back to the delivery room, speaking to him so quietly that Ryx and Neph couldn't hear the words. They exchanged panicked looks and chased after them, not particularly caring if they were allowed to tag along.

* * *

Victus stared down at the pale-plated child, feeling nothing as it squirmed and clicked its tiny, soft mandibles. Neph hung by the door, trying to swallow her pained vocalizations as Ryx nuzzled her brow to comfort her. The doctor who had escorted them back stood opposite of Victus, wringing his talons.

"How..?" Victus asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Complications such as these are very rare," the doctor replied quietly. Victus was numb and barely even registered the words coming from the obstetrician's mouth. Something about the placenta detaching... child in distress... had to perform an emergency procedure, after which massive hemorrhaging occurred. Did everything within their ability, but simply couldn't save the mother...

When Victus said nothing, Ryx came up beside him and spoke. "Could we have a minute?"

"Of course," the obstetrician replied softly, turning and shuffling out of the room.

Ryx glanced over to his friend, who was quiet and still as he looked down at the child. "Adrien?"

Neph slid up to Victus' other side, placing a hand on the table the baby was laying on. "A son... At least they had it right. You... Adrien, you have a son."

He backed away, his undertones warping in agony. "I have nothing."

"Adrien-" Ryx began.

"That _thing_murdered it's own mother," Victus hissed. "It's no son of mine."

"This wasn't his fault," Neph soothed. She choked as she tried to continue. "She just wasn't strong enough. Scyl just..."

Victus would hear no more of it. He turned and stormed out of the delivery room, leaving Ryx and Neph behind to watch over the child.

* * *

"...no, thank you for checking in, but we've got things under control here." Neph sighed at her Omni-tool as the newest person from the hospital probed for answers.

[Please understand, we just have to make these follow-up calls, given the father's state upon departure,] the nurse (receptionist, whatever she was) said.

"I know," Neph groaned. "But like I told the person who called yesterday, my mate and I are long-time friends of the child's father, and we were given legal rights over the baby in the event of an emergency. He's currently in our care."

[Our records show that you are staying within the Victus household,] she added. [We are only concerned about the child's safety.]

"Yeah," Neph spat, "and we're worried about our friend, so of course we're staying here. We won't let anything happen to either of them. _We have things under control._"

[Yes, ma'am,] the nurse peeped, backing down at Neph's tone. [Please don't hesitate to contact us should any problems arise.]

"Uh huh," Neph hissed, hanging up. She glanced over, noticing that two very wide, bright olive eyes were trained on her. She grinned and crawled onto the floor where the new baby was stretched out on a pallet.

His plates had yet to harden or take a color, fresh and soft. Neph reached out a talon, neatly filed and blunted as a precaution, and stroked the infant's head. "Yeah... we wouldn't be on Palaven if your mommy hadn't insisted."

Newborns were so fragile that Palaven's radiation could prove harmful to them. However, Scylla had been raised on Palaven and had always demanded that her child stay on the homeworld, as well. It was something Neph didn't have the heart to argue with now.

The boy lifted his arms shakily and scratched at Neph's fingers, a coo bubbling in his throat. Neph whimpered and picked him up, standing as she cuddled him against her neck. She swayed back and forth where she stood to gently rock the child, and he gave a pleased purr and snuggled closer. Neph's movement was interrupted by a weak chirp to her side and she turned as Athy, now nearly a teenager, entered the room.

The girl hadn't taken the news of her adopted aunt's death well, but she was coping as well as possible, trying to focus her attention on the baby. She came up to her mother and reached out for the child. "Is he awake? I want him."

Neph quirked a brow at her. "Have you been keeping you nails trimmed like I told you?"

Athy held her hands up, flipping them to display the manicured tips. "Yeah." Neph nodded and passed the baby over. Taking him, Athy chirped, "Hey... c'mere, Peep." She vocalized a _peep_sound over the spoken word.

"_Peep?_" Neph echoed. "Athy, he has a name."

"Adrien says he doesn't," Athy replied.

"You Uncle Adrien isn't thinking straight right now," Neph said quietly, accented with a sad undertone. She looked out at the deck, where Ryx and Victus were sitting, and sighed. "You should start calling the baby by his name so he'll recognize it."

Athy flared her mandibles haughtily. "I like Peep better."

* * *

Outside, Ryx glanced over at his friend, who was still sporting an entirely bleak expression. It had been nearly a week since Scylla's death, and Victus had barely spoken in that time. At the ceremony marking her passing, he very quietly said the ritual words to allow her Spirit passage into the afterlife, but said nothing to her family. They had never been a major presence anyway, so Victus had just silently dismissed them. Once he'd returned home, he'd kept to himself, only submitting to forced conversations.

He had yet to even touch the baby.

Ryx finally grumbled, "You can't do this forever."

_Try me,_Victus clicked back, glancing over just slightly.

"Scyl wouldn't want this," Ryx said.

"I know," Victus admitted. He took a deep breath, then said, "I just don't know how to move forward."

"Holding your son would be a good first step, I should think."

"I can't," Victus shot back.

"It's not his fault," Ryx prodded.

"_I know_," Victus hissed. He leaned further back in his chair, tilting his head back so his crest hung over his cowl. "You think I haven't run that through my head a thousand times, trying to convince myself it's true?" He gave an annoyed sound, something like a sigh. "I've tried diverting the blame to something else, tried saying it was the medical care she received or that it was ultimately my fault or even that it was Neph's fault for introducing us in the first place."

Ryx gave a click in warning when his mate was named. "No one is at fault, here. No one could have predicted what happened, and it's likely that no one could've stopped it. You have to accept that."

"She wasn't supposed to die before me," Victus murmured. He doubled forward, burrowing his face into his hands. "I've spent my entire life dodging bullets and blades and fists, and my non-combatant mate dies before me. What kind of sick joke is that?"

"Civilians aren't immune to death," Ryx said. "No one is." Victus said nothing, so Ryx leaned over and gave him a rough shake. "Adrien, whether you want to think about it or not, you have a kid now. A kid that's depending on you to pull your shit together."

"I can't," Victus muttered. "I can't clear my head." After a moment, he admitted, "I put in a request to be sent somewhere, anywhere, and was denied."

"Yeah," Ryx retorted, "I may have sent word through the chain of command that you were in no state to go anywhere."

"Figures," Victus spat. "Bastard."

"Just looking out for you, brother," Ryx said simply. He stood and stretched, his attention flashing briefly to his mate and daughter in the house. He let out a quiet, longing chirp.

"Go ahead," Victus said. _Inside._"I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Ryx shot back.

"No, I'm not," Victus agreed. "But, I'm fine sitting here."

"Right," Ryx said, heading inside. "Don't stay out too long, or Neph'll come out and be your next watchdog."

"Frightening," Victus hummed, reclining back and closing his eyes.

* * *

The next person to come out for him, in fact, was not Neph, but Athy. The girl flopped into the chair her father had occupied earlier, drawing her feet up into the seat. She was chewing on a rod-shaped fruit snack and her words sounded wet as she spoke. "Adrien, Mama says you aren't thinking straight."

He slowly opened his eyes and glanced over at her. She smelled sticky-sweet and... like the infant. She'd been playing with him. Victus diverted his gaze and said nothing. Athy held up a package of the fruit snacks and extended it towards him. "Want one?"

"No," Victus grumbled, not looking at her.

She tsked in disappointment, then trilled in thought. "Mama says he has a name."

"I don't care," Victus snapped.

Athy didn't miss a beat. "I don't like it, though. It sounds dumb."

"Athy, go back inside," Victus growled, losing patience with the girl. Any other day, he'd be able to sit through hours of ramblings; being around her for just over a decade had built up his tolerance. However, he couldn't handle talk of the child.

Athy popped up from the chair, flaring her mandibles angrily. She held her tongue, though, and sprinted back into the house. She found her mother inside and, once again, took the child from her.

* * *

"Okay, I have to go," Ryx said, his voice buzzing with agitation. He hovered over Victus, who was sitting on the couch, and stared him down. "This isn't ideal, but Athy's sick and couldn't reach Neph. I have to go pick her up from school." He lowered his voice to a threatening tone. "I'm trusting you not to do something stupid."

Victus shrugged, clasping his hands over his lap and clicking his thumbnails. "You won't be gone long, I suppose? What are you expecting me to do?"

Ryx chirred in annoyance. "_I'm_not expecting anything, but Neph thinks someone needs to stay with you."

"Imagine that," Victus scoffed, "a _general_of the turian military reduced to needing a babysitter." He sent Ryx a glare. "The world won't end if you leave for an hour."

"And if the kid starts screaming?" Ryx prodded.

"I'll throw him a chew-toy," Victus muttered. When Ryx gave a scolding click, he corrected, "I will keep him alive."

"How about _alive and happy_?" Ryx drolled.

"Might be pushing it," Victus replied.

"Fine," Ryx spat. "...Fine, alive's good. I've got to go, though, so seriously, nothing stupid."

Victus gave a slight wave as Ryx rushed out the door then pressed back into the couch cushions, groaning.

It had been two weeks since his friends had temporarily moved in, and he hadn't had a moment of peace since. Neph and, to a lesser degree, Ryx had been so worried that he would harm himself or the kid that he'd been under constant surveillance.

He stood, stretched, and decided to take a walk around his house, observe how things had change, if they had at all, since Scylla's death.

The kitchen was mostly unchanged. Scyl had been the only one with any cooking skill at all, so no one had disturbed the various items in the room. The cabinets and refrigerating unit were stocked with ingredients, things that were meant to combine into something edible. The foods that were pre-cooked or easily prepared had been depleted, though.

The study was completely untouched, product of no one going in there, Victus imagined. Really, the only rooms that had any noticeable change were the guest bedroom, living area, bathroom, and...

Victus stared down the hallway at the room opposite his bedroom. It was once the room where guns and armor were stored, but in the last year it had morphed into a room that was clean and softly-lit with muted paint... the room where the child would sleep. The room where he currently _was_sleeping.

The general moved quietly down the hall, pausing in front of the door. He had yet to go in that room, had purposefully avoided it, but he decided that it was as good a time as any to peek in. He crept in, his senses immediately assaulted by that undeniable baby-smell. He didn't like it.

He moved further into the low light of the room, inching closer to the crib where the child was sleeping. He reached the side of it, looming. The infant was tucked under a blanket. He was curled into a ball, his tiny hands pressed against his mouth, and his mandibles flicked as he nibbled at his fingers in his sleep.

Victus sighed, his heart feeling heavy as he watched the child. He jolted as the infant's eyes fluttered then opened completely. The next second, those large, bright eyes were locked on Victus. The child held a bewildered expression, as though he was confused by the man standing over him, which wasn't surprising given Victus' abscence in the last two weeks.

The infant chirped in question and waited for Victus to return an introductory vocalization. When he didn't, the boy chirped again, more insistently. His eyes widened with the effort, and Victus felt his heart rate increase.

Victus and Scylla both had olive eyes, but hers had been just a bit lighter. The infant's eyes were the same shade and had the same shape. They even held the same glistening warmth that Scylla's had. Victus stumbled back, forcing down a choked cry. The infant's eyes grew bigger, frightened by the sudden movement, and Victus nearly scoffed at the emotion they held. They were his mother's eyes, but they were fearful in a way hers had never been. Scylla had been fearless, not weak like this little creature lying before Victus.

Yet, she hadn't been strong. She had withered away, quietly. Weak.

_No!_

Victus flew out of the room, praying with every fiber that the child wouldn't cry, wouldn't summon him back.

* * *

He ended up back in the kitchen, the room farthest from the child. The infant had begun whining, exactly as Victus had hoped he wouldn't, and the sounds quickly turned into pained wails when the boy realized no one was coming back for him. Victus didn't want to just outright leave the house, but the kitchen still provided little shelter from the noise.

To busy himself, he shuffled around, rustling through mail that had been laid out on the counter. Bills, junk, far too many sympathy cards... He separated them into piles, sorting them by importance. He paused when he reached a large unlabeled envelope, flipping it over to scan for some identifying marker.

There was a stamped logo that displayed the name of the hospital the infant had been born in, but nothing else. Curious, though reluctantly, Victus slit the envelope open and yanked out the paperwork that was inside. There were records. On top was a written account of the procedures that had been performed the day the boy was born. Victus tossed them aside, unable to read the recap of his mate's death. Under those were documents containing the infant's finger- and footprints. He discarded those as well, coming to the final sheet. It was a birth certificate, with delicate font and elaborate signatures from the hospital staff. In the center of the page, it listed the infant's name, the given name that Neph and Athy had alluded to. Victus' breath caught in his throat.

_Tarquin Victus_

He reread the text, his vocalizations spilling out erratically. He hadn't questioned that the boy had a name; he'd assumed that Neph had taken the initiative and named him, perhaps, since he'd never been asked to provide a name. But, this wasn't Neph's doing. Scylla never had told anyone her idea for their child's name. That meant...

Victus pulled up his Omni-tool display, connecting shakily to the hospital. He waited a moment for a comm link to establish, trying to compose himself as a chipper woman answered, rattling off the name of the hospital, the ward, and her title. [How may I help you?]

"I need... some information regarding... records," Victus said with some difficulty. "There appears to be a problem with my... son's," (he nearly choked on the word), "birth certificates."

[What seems to be the problem, sir?]

"I think there's been a mix-up with his name."

[Okay, sir, I'll need to verify your identity before we can access your family's records.]

He took a moment, answering her questions, then was put on hold while she accessed his records. When she returned, there was a hesitation in her tone that hadn't been there previously. [Sir, I have your records here and can answer any questions you have.]

"Good," Victus said. "I'd like to know where the name on the paperwork came from."

A sort of startled sound came from her end as she scanned the records. It was enough of an answer, honestly, but Victus wanted to actually hear it. [Sir, that came from... the obstetrician who delivered your son authorized the information himself.]

"Yes, but who _named him_?"

She gave a sympathetic hum. [Your... mate, sir. She named him.]

Victus hung up immediately, dropping the certificate onto the table. The child's cries were still echoing through the house, louder than ever. Victus turned, his mind churning with incoherent thoughts. He peeled out of the kitchen and headed back toward the child's room.

* * *

Neph stormed into the house, Athy on her heels and Ryx following reluctantly behind. "I cannot _believe_ you! I say don't leave, and _what_do you do?"

"I told you, I thought I had to get Athy," Ryx defended. "I didn't know you'd be there."

"When she called, they left a message for me," she hissed. "_Of course_I'd be there!"

They'd argued the same point nonstop since picking Athy up. They had both arrived at the school, at nearly the exact same time, and Neph had exploded. Now, they were back at the house and she was rushing into the living room, calling for Victus.

"Adrien, where are you?" she shouted. When she received no answer, she trilled in panic and began searching the rest of the house. Athy, who had, of course, left school because she wasn't feeling well, went in the opposite direction, heading for the bedroom to lay down.

"Neph, calm down," Ryx said. "I'm sure everything is fine-"

"Mama," Athy called. She had stopped in front of the infant's room on the way back to the guest bedroom. "Mama, Peep's not in here."

"_What?_" Neph yelled, tearing down the hall and bursting into the dimly-lit room. Ryx watched her run in, then flinched as a frightened shriek erupted from the room. "Ryx! Ryx, there's blood in here!"

It was his turn to panic now as he wondered, in horror, if trusting Victus had been a terrible mistake. He sprinted into the room, assessing the damage. Neph was seconds away from having a breakdown, gesturing wildly at a small blue blotch in the crib. Ryx quirked a browplate, his thoughts racing. Blood, not enough to have come from a serious injury, but... He glanced around, noticing a torn bandage wrapper and some antibiotic creme. Another wrapper, its outer paper smeared blue, lay peeled open among the child blankets. The floor was also littered with unopened bandages and an empty container.

"Neph, this... Neph, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" she howled.

"Neph, look at this mess," Ryx said, pointing to all the bandages. "Something happened and he was so freaked out, he dropped all these."

"Then where the hell is he?" she yelled. "He's not in the house! He's not-" She froze, glancing towards the window. She stepped closer, pulling open the opaque curtains to peer into the back yard. Her eyes widened and she let out an indignant shriek before bolting out of the room.

"Guess she found him..." Ryx muttered, not nearly as disturbed by the situation as his mate. He walked briskly out of the room, following her.

When he caught up to her again, she was standing over Victus, who was lounging in a chair that had been folded out under a tree. She yelled, "What in the _hell_are you doing out here?"

He stared up at her groggily. "Sleeping."

As Ryx neared, he saw the other general holding a bundle securely against his chest. Neph continued her scolding, "Sleeping? And the baby..." Her eyes targeted the bundle in his arm. "_What is he doing out here?_?"

"Also sleeping," Victus groaned, squinting his eyes as he yawned. "Though I'm not sure how with all the noise."

"Adrien," Neph said with a fierce snarl, "he can't be outside! The radiation-"

"He's covered up," Victus said defensively. "I'm not an idiot."

Neph head reeled. "There was _blood_! What-"

"Oh, that," Victus grumbled. He held up his free hand, flexing his talons. "Nicked him when I picked him up."

Neph let out a string of angry, clicked reprimands, accompanied by, "You didn't _cut your nails_? You stupid-"

"It's under control," Victus muttered.

"Bandages," Ryx added. "Told you."

"Shut up," Neph hissed. She turned back to Victus. "Why the sudden change? You wouldn't even _look_at him before."

A sad keen hung in his throat. "She... named him."

Neph blinked. "What?"

"She was alert. She... she was still alive when he..." He couldn't finish the thought, so he moved on to the next. "She named him that ridiculous name because she spoke to the doctor first."

"Adrien, you..." Neph hummed out a wail. "The doctor told us that the day it happened. That she was awake. They delivered the baby and she was awake and talking, but she just wouldn't stop bleeding."

"I wasn't really listening," Victus admitted. "I don't actually remember anything that was said that day. I didn't realize she..." His arm was shaking, but he tightened it around the bundled child. "I told her we wouldn't name him that, but she got one last jab and did it anyway." _Clever, always clever._"I can't... She put her mark on him. I can't pretend he isn't mine anymore."

"Spirits..." Neph whispered. Victus tucked his head to the side, unable to hold back a broken keen. Ryx came up on his other side, kneeling down and bracing Victus' arm so the infant wouldn't fall, while Neph dropped down, pressing her forehead to his temple. "It'll be okay." _It'll be okay._

* * *

**2168**

* * *

"Dad." _Wake up._ "_Dad._" _**Wake up, wake up.**_

Victus groaned and buried his head in his pillow, bringing up an arm to further shield his face. "Tarquin, go back to bed."

The boy was silent for a moment, then pounced into his father's shoulder with a challenging growl. "Dad, I'm hungry."

"You won't starve," Victus argued weakly.

"Uh huh!" Tarquin said, emphasizing it with an affirmative chirp. His father said nothing, so he quietly dropped off the bed and slid out of the room. Victus sighed, burrowing deeper into his pillows. He assumed that the boy had given up.

That is, until a very loud crash erupted from the front of the house.

Victus tumbled out of bed, sprinting towards the sound, and came to an alarmed halt at the doorway of the kitchen. "Tarquin, are you-"

He froze as the tan-plated child stared up at him, his mandibles flicking in a beaming smile. There was a large saucepan balanced on his head like a helmet and various pieces of cookware spilling from the cabinet behind him.

Victus panted, "What... what in Spirit's name are you doing, boy?"

Tarquin brandished a mixing spoon as though he was about to lead a cavalry. "Makin' breakfast!"

"There..." Victus stifled a laugh. "There's a pan on your head."

"'Cause I'm makin' breakfast!" Tarquin cheered.

Victus reeled back, smacking a hand against his forehead, and muttered, "_Take some more time off_, they said. _It'll be fun_, they said..." Those were the words of wisdom from Ryx and Neph. Also, _you don't want to waste the first years on the battlefield_. For the most part, they had been right. Being there for his son's "firsts" had been phenomenal. Now, however, he was developing an attitude and a tendency to want things early in the morning, both of which Victus didn't quite appreciate.

The general stepped forward, scooping his son up, pan, spoon and all, and carried him over to the cabinets. He yanked the doors open and asked, "Fine. Breakfast. What are we eating?"

Tarquin pointed to several items, things that were meant to be combined in an actual cooking process. "That."

Victus snorted. Cooking... not one of his strengths. "You think I'm a miracle worker?"

"Yep," Tarquin chirped, thumping his-pan head against his father's cheek.

Victus chuckled, "Flattery won't make that stuff cook itself." The boy gave a questioning click. "I'm saying we can't eat that because I can't make it."

"Atha makes it," he peeped. "Call Atha."

Victus shook his head as he grabbed out a box with simple cooking instructions. "Athy went to basic last week, remember? She won't be able to visit for a while."

"Call Nepha," Tarquin chirped. Victus gave another chuckle at his son's tendency to put extra sounds at the ends of names and also at the suggestion.

"Do you _want_our house to burn down?"

"Yep," he answered immediately. Then, "No."

Victus held the box up to him. "You like this?"

Tarquin studied the box, his subvocals humming in thought. "Nnnnn... yes."

"Good. Because that's what we're eating."

"Yep," Tarquin tweeted.

Victus quirked a browplate at him, noticing the look on the boy's face: olive eyes defiant, like it had been his idea in the first place, like his father had been the one giving in. His mandibles twitched expectantly, and his expression softened into a smile when he caught his father staring. It surprised him, the way he could see Scylla in their son more and more each day. It gave him solace, that she was still there in some way.

"Dad," Tarquin reminded (in a tone that was so similar to his mother's that Victus could almost hear, _Adrien, are you even listening?_), "I'm hungry."

_Right._ "Of course you are," Victus said, kicking into gear again.


End file.
